The Sherlock Holmes Universe

The Sherlock Holmes Universe encompasses not only the stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle, but also many further adventures of The Great Detective and other characters from Doyle's stories.*

This Sherlock Holmes Universe collection also contains library items about "where Holmes walked", modern deconstructions of some of Holmes' cases, and biographies of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

The characters created by Doyle are so enduring that modern authors have written new stories not only about Holmes but also Dr. John Watson and his wife, "the woman" Irene Adler, and Holmes' arch-rival Professor Moriarty. Even the Baker Street Irregulars, Inspector Lestrade, and Sherlock's long-suffering housekeeper Mrs. Hudson have gotten their own stories, and Arthur Conan Doyle appears as a character in several works. Other authors have introduced entirely new characters, the "children of Holmes."

The items on this page are a representative sample -- click through on the Sherlock Holmes Universe to see all the Library items tagged in this wide, varied, and ever-growing collection!

* Once the copyright on characters passes into the public domain, any author may legally use the characters in stories.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - The Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Stories

All of the Sherlock Holmes stories written by Arthur Conan Doyle in a 3-volume set, with the original Strand magazine illustrations and over 1,000 annotations examining:

"...the identity of Watson's wives, where Holmes attended college, and what did, in fact, happen at the Reichenbach Falls. Still other notes yield fascinating cultural and historical insights about the Victorian and Edwardian ages, examining an incredible range of topics, including annotations on Victorian bicycling, the development of fingerprinting, the history of the Boer War, the invention of the submarine, the growth of the railroads, the use of the vampire in literature, and the amazingly pervasive fear of premature burial.

Volume II also includes appendices that will prove indispensable to any Sherlockian, including an extensive bibliography and a listing of international societies dedicated to the study of Sherlock Holmes, as well as numerous Web sites for further study of the stories and the times." - from the book jacket

The Publication of Leslie S. Klinger's brilliant new annotations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 56 short stories in 2004 created a Holmes sensation. Here, in this eagerly awaited third volume, Klinger reassembles Doyle's four seminal novels in their original order, with over 1,000 new notes, 350 illustrations and period photographs, and tantalizing new Sherlockian theories. Inside, readers will find: A Study in Scarlet (1887)? tale of murder and revenge that tells of Holmes and Dr. Watson's first meeting; The Sign of Four (1889)? cinematic tale of lost treasure; The Hound of the Baskervilles (1901)?ailed as the greatest mystery novel of all time; and The Valley of Fear (1914)? fresh murder scene that leads Holmes to solve a long-forgotten mystery. Whether as a stand-alone volume or as a companion to the boxed short stories, this classic work illuminates the timeless genius of Conan Doyle for an entirely new generation.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - Fiction

Sherlock Holmes Fiction

Sherlock Holmes is one of literature's most beloved characters: Ever since Sir Arthur Conan Doyle created the character of detective Sherlock Holmes, fans have clamored for more. Numerous authors have taken up the task of keeping Holmes alive, but few have successfully delivered as faithful an offshoot as Lyndsay Faye. In "Dust and Shadow, " she brings an unveiled authenticity to the legendary hero.

The Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle were recently voted as the top mystery series of all time, and they have enthralled generations of readers--and writers! Now, Laurie R. King, author of the New York Times-bestselling Mary Russell series (in which Holmes plays a co-starring role), and Leslie S. Klinger, editor of the New Annotated Sherlock Holmes, have assembled a stellar group of contemporary authors from a variety of genres and asked them to create new stories inspired by that canon. Readers will find Holmes in times and places previously unimagined, as well as characters who have themselves been affected by the tales of Sherlock Holmes.The resulting volume is an absolute delight for Holmes fans both new and old, with contributions from: Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Michael Dirda, Harlan Ellison, Denise Hamilton, Nancy Holder, John Lescroart, Sara Paretsky, Michael Sims, and more. The game is afoot--again!

Reichenbach Falls - the infamous site of the battle to the death between Sherlock Holmes and his archnemesis, Professor Moriarty.

The Shadow of Reichenbach Falls reveals the long-held secret of the supposed "death match at the Falls" between Holmes and Moriarty, where both survived but neither was unscathed. - from the book jacket

In 1891, Sherlock Holmes in a struggle with his arch-enemy, the Napoleon of Crime, Professor James Moriarty, plunged with him over the Reichenbach Falls to his inevitable death. All of England - indeed the entire world - mourned the irreplaceable loss of the world's greatest detective. And that's where things stood until 1894 when Holmes suddenly reappeared in London, revealing himself to his friend Dr. John Watson, and resumed his activities as a consulting detective. Holmes remained very quiet and mysterious on those missing three years, never really revealing precisely where he'd been and what he'd done in the 'hidden years."

Now, in this anthology of original stories the truth about those thirty-five months is unveiled and Holmes' adventures described. While some stories place Holmes in such familiar locations as New York and San Francisco, others find him high in the Himalayas or above the Arctic Circle.

The case of the lugubrious manservant / by Rhys Bowen -- Reichenbach / by Michael Kurland -- God of the naked unicorn / by Richard Lupoff -- Mr. Sigerson / by Peter Beagle -- The beast of Guangming Peak / by Michael Mallory -- Water from the moon / by Carolyn Wheat -- The adventure of the missing detective / by Gary Lovisi -- The mystery of Dr. Thorvald Sigerson / by Linda Robertson -- The bughouse caper / by Bill Pronzini -- The strange case of the voodoo priestess / by Carole Bugge -- Cross of gold / by Michael Collins.

Entering into service as housekeeper for the distinguished investigator Sherlock Holmes and his associate Dr. Watson, Mrs. Hudson expands her duties beyond keeping things tidy.

The great detective's latest client is a traveler recently returned from the Far East-and nearly killed under mysterious circumstances. He says he's under a Sumatran curse that will end his life.

While Holmes and Watson seek a less superstitious solution to the man's dilemma, Mrs. Hudson and Flottie, the orphan girl in her care, take it upon themselves to investigate the case. They are determined to solve the mystery-even if it entails pointing Mrs. Hudson's employers in the right direction.

A new Sherlock Holmes mystery worthy of the master Sir Conan Doyle himself. In 1891, a horrified public learned that Sherlock Holmes-in a last deadly struggle with the archcriminal Professor Moriarty-had perished at the Reichenbach Falls in Switzerland. Two years later, popular demand made Sir Conan Doyle resurrect the great detective. Holmes informed a stunned Dr. Watson, "I traveled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Llasa." Nothing has been known of those missing years until Jamyang Norbu's discovery of the Mandala, a carefully wrapped package in a rusting tin box. When opened, the package reveals a Bengali scholar's own account of his travels with Holmes. The Mandala holds the key to a mystery and tells the story of Holmes in a landscape so fascinating, a game so intriguing, that it is impossible to resist. An exciting, often richly humorous detective story, Sherlock Holmes: The Missing Years also evokes the romance of Kipling's India. Jamyang Norbu has written a mystical, playful, and witty page-turner.

Note: Somehow along the way this story collection was cataloged as "juvenile fiction."

"The Adventures of the Devil's Foot" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle / "The Problem of the Sore Bridge - Among Others" by Philip Jose Farmer, writing as Harry Manders / "The Adventure of the Global Traveler" by Anne Lear / "The Great Dormitory Mystery" by S.N. Farber / "The Adventure of the Misplaced Hound" by Poul Anderson and Gordon R. Dickson / "The Thing Waiting Outside" by Barbara Williamson / "A Father's Tale" by Sterling E. Lanier / "The Adventure of the Extraterrestrial" by Mack Reynolds / "A Scarletin Study" by Philip Jose Farmer, writing as Jonathan Swift Somers III / "Voiceover" by Edward Wellen / "The Adventure of the Metal Murderer" by Fred Saberhagen / "Slaves of the Silver" by Gene Wolfe / "God of the Naked Unicorn" by RIchard Lupoff, writing as Ova Hamlet / "Death in the Christmas Hour" by James Powell / "The Ultimate Crime" by Isaac Asimov

Authorized and licensed by Estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! Award winning author Loren D. Estleman's Sherlock Holmes stories and essays collected in one volume, including "The Serpent's Egg," the opening chapter of a planned pastiche to be a "round-robin" novel by multiple authors including Issac Asimov, Ruth Rendell, and others. This entertaining book also includes three previously published essays, "Channeling Holmes," "On the Significance of Boswells," and "Was Sherlock Holmes The Shadow?" that delve deeper into the daring world of Sherlock Holmes and the imaginative mind of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

A brand-new collection of Sherlock Holmes stories from a variety of exciting voices in modern horror and steampunk, including James Lovegrove, Justin Richards, Paul Magrs, Guy Adams and Mark Hodder. Edited by respected anthologist George Mann, and including a story by Mann himself. Introduction by George Mann; The Loss of Chapter Twenty-One by Mark Hodder; Holmes and the Indelicate Widow by Mags L Halliday; The Demon Slasher of Seven Sisters by Cavan Scott; The Post-Modern Prometheus by Nick Kyme; Mrs Hudson at the Christmas Hotel by Paul Magrs; The Case of the Night Crawler by George Mann; The Adventure of the Locked Carriage by Stuart Douglas; The Tragic Affair of the Martian Ambassador by Eric Brown; The Adventure of the Swaddled Railwayman by Richard Dinnick; The Pennyroyal Society by Kelly Hale; The Persian Slipper by Steve Lockley; The Property of a Thief by Mark Wright; Woman's Work by David Barnett; The Fallen Financier by James Lovegrove.

Sherlock Holmes - Fiction Series

The James Wilson series by Barry Grant.

When James Wilson retires from journalism, he decides to settle down in Herefordshire with a room-mate, a Mr Cedric Coombes, and at first thinks little of his new friend's eccentric behaviour. But he can't shake the feeling that he knows him from somewhere else. As Coombes displays his magnificent deductive prowess, and becomes embroiled in the police investigation of the apparent murder of a man in bathtub, Wilson, or should we say Watson, begins to wonder just who this Coombes really is . . . - from the book jacket

Having emerged from a Swiss glacier and solved his first murder case in more than ninety years (described in The Strange Return of Sherlock Holmes), the world’s most famous detective now sleuths through modern London in search of a stolen letter purportedly written by Shakespeare. Holmes displays his usual mental brilliance as he investigates the missing letter and discovers an international plot to arm terrorists. He and his roommate, James Wilson, track the Shakespeare letter and the terrorist arms dealers to a Scottish castle where surprises await . . . and where the two companions quickly find they must be bloody, bold, and resolute if they are to survive. - from the book jacket

The original super-sleuth, Sherlock Holmes, is back on the case - A corpse in a sarcophagus, a headless macaw, and a stolen slice of Black Forest gateau alert Sherlock Holmes to a macabre international crime in progress, and lead him through London’s backstreets to the gloomy moors of Cornwall. People vanish, Greek statues vanish. Even Holmes vanishes – to the distress of his companion, James Wilson, whose emails and text messages go unanswered. But Holmes is in top form, fully recovered from his journey through ice to the twenty-first century and ready to reveal a multitude of secrets . . .

Sherlock Holmes and Frankenstein's Diary
by Barry Grant

Recovered from the icy journey that took him from 1914 to the present day, Holmes has a new mission. A scientist who tortures apes in a Swiss chalet. The corpse of an animal rights protestor. The firing of Inspector Lestrade. These send Holmes to London and a world where the tabloids have corrupted the police, blackmailed the government and entangled Britain in a nightmare where no citizen seems safe from hacking.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - "After Holmes" Fiction Series

The Baker Street Letters series by Michael Robertson.

First in a spectacular new series about two brother lawyers who lease offices on London's Baker Street--and begin receiving mail addressed to Sherlock Holmes In Los Angeles, a geological surveyor maps out a proposed subway route--and then goes missing. His eight-year-old daughter, in her desperation, turns to the one person she thinks might help--she writes a letter to Sherlock Holmes.That letter creates an uproar at 221b Baker Street, which now houses the law offices of attorney and man about town Reggie Heath and his hapless brother, Nigel. Instead of filing the letter like he's supposed to, Nigel decides to investigate. Soon he's flying off to Los Angeles, inconsiderately leaving a very dead body on the floor in his office. Big brother Reggie follows Nigel to California, as does Reggie's sometime lover, Laura---a quick-witted stage actress who's captured the hearts of both brothers.When Nigel is arrested, Reggie must use all his wits to solve a case that Sherlock Holmes would have savored and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle fans will adore.

Hoping to recoup his losses after answering a misdirected letter to Sherlock Holmes, barrister Reggie Heath represents a limousine driver who has been accused of murdering two tourists, a case that is complicated by a letter from a descendant of Professor Moriarty.

In Michael Robertson's The Baker Street Translation, Reggie and Nigel Heath - brothers who lease law offices at 221B Baker Street in London, England and answer mail addressed to the location's most famous resident, Sherlock Holmes - find themselves pulled once again into a case straight out of Arthur Conan Doyle. An elderly American heiress wants to leave her entire fortune to Sherlock Holmes. A translator wants Sherlock Holmes to explain a nursery rhyme. And Robert Buxton - Reggie's rival for the love of actress Laura Rankin - has gone missing. Reggie must suss all these things out before an upcoming British royal event. If he doesn't, something very bad will happen to everyone at that event - and to Laura. Fast-paced, exciting, and clever, this is the perfect mystery for aficionados of the current craze for all things Sherlockian.

Michael Robertson has delighted mystery readers and Sherlock Holmes aficionados everywhere with his charming and innovative Baker Street mystery series, where brothers Reggie and Nigel Heath are charged with answering letters to Holmes that arrive at their law office, located at 221B Baker Street. Now, Reggie and Nigel are back in a case that would confound even Sherlock himself. An exhibition of vintage Sherlock Holmes letters has opened at the Marylebone Hotel. As Reggie and his beloved&nbspLaura embark on a pre-wedding trip, someone from Reggie and Nigel's past-someone&nbspwhom&nbspthey thought was long gone-reappears, causing a whole slew of new problems for the brothers. Written with Robertson's characteristic charm, this is a standout mystery in a much-loved series, perfect for fans of the smash hit television shows "Sherlock"&nbspand "Elementary."

Sherlock Holmes - Fiction Series

Further adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by author Donald Thomas

In a momentous period of British history, Donald Thomas's latest Sherlock Holmes adventure pits the Great Detective and his faithful biographer, Dr. John Watson, against an international conspiracy led by a disgraced English officer. Colonel Hunter Moran bears upon him "The Mark of the Beast, his satanic ingenuity leaves a spectacular trail of devastation. It runs from the annihilation of a British armored column by Zulu tribesmen armed only with shields and spears, to a life-and-death struggle on the sinking passenger steamer Comtesse de Flandre.

The books in order of release:

The Secret Cases of Sherlock Holmes (1997)

Sherlock Holmes and Running Noose (2001)

Sherlock Holmes and the Voice From the Crypt (2002)

The Execution of Sherlock Holmes (2007)

Sherlock Holmes and the King's Evil (2009)

Sherlock Holmes and the Ghosts of Bly (2010)

The Lost Casebooks of Sherlock Holmes (omnibus) (2012)

Death on a Pale Horse (2013)

Sherlock Holmes Universe - Fiction Series

The Irene Adler series by Carole Nelson Douglas

Sherlock Holmes referred to her as "the woman" -- one of the few people to get the better of him and the only woman to gain his attention and respect. Carole Nelson Douglas' series follows the adventures of Irene Adler (a character from the Holmes story A Scandal in Bohemia) -- opera singer, globetrotting socialite and amateur sleuth.

Irene Adler is the beautiful opera singer who bested the best detective in the world, the only woman to ever outwit Sherlock Holmes. She has spent years in self-imposed exile in Europe, in an attempt to reinvent herself and create a new life, because she cannot remember the old one. But now circumstances have forced this diva-turned-detective to investigate a past she doesn't remember--on her home ground. Daredevil reporter Nelly Bly has lured Irene, her faithful chronicler and British parson's daughter Nell Huxleigh, and Holmes himself to America, offering information regarding Irene's parentage. New York City in 1889 proved to be both fascinating and perilous for Irene, and Nelly Bly's information was more harmful than helpful. Because now Irene and her allies--and enemies--must race to follow a deadly trail of hidden personal and political history back in time to the days of the California gold rush, thirty years earlier. They are pursuing the complex and contradictory life story of one of the most notorious women of the nineteenth century, and before the intrigue-ridden quest is over, Irene and Nell will uncover murderous international political conspiracies, lost treasure, and finally... the full, shocking secret of Irene's birth.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - Fiction Series

The Mary Russell series by Laurie R. King

Holmes purists may marvel at the idea of The Great Detective being associated with any woman, except perhaps "the woman" Irene Adler. But Laurie R. King has parlayed this idea into a popular series of books featuring Mary Russell, a brilliant woman who uses Holmes' own techniques to find him and draw him out of bee-keeping retirement and into her life.

The latest title in the Mary Russell series. Now, in their newest and most thrilling adventure, the couple is separated by a shocking circumstance in a perilous part of the world, each racing against time to prevent an explosive catastrophe that could clothe them both in shrouds. In a strange room in Morocco, Mary Russell is trying to solve a pressing mystery: Who am I? She has awakened with shadows in her mind, blood on her hands, and soldiers pounding on the door. Out in the hivelike streets, she discovers herself strangely adept in the skills of the underworld, escaping through alleys and rooftops, picking pockets and locks. She is clothed like a man, and armed only with her wits and a scrap of paper containing a mysterious Arabic phrase. Overhead, warplanes pass ominously north. Meanwhile, Holmes is pulled by two old friends and a distant relation into the growing war between France, Spain, and the Rif Revolt led by Emir Abd el-Krim--who may be a Robin Hood or a power mad tribesman. The shadows of war are drawing over the ancient city of Fez, and Holmes badly wants the wisdom and courage of his wife, whom he's learned, to his horror, has gone missing. As Holmes searches for her, and Russell searches for herself, each tries to crack deadly parallel puzzles before it's too late for them, for Africa, and for the peace of Europe.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - Holmes-inspired Fiction Series

The Holmes on the Range series by Steve Hockensmith

Because 1893 is a tough year in Montana, any job is a good job. When Big Red and Old Red Amlingmeyer sign on as ranch hands at the secretive Bar VR cattle spread, they're not expecting much more than hard work, bad pay, and a comfortable campfire around which they can enjoy their favorite pastime: scouring Harper's Weekly for stories about the famous Sherlock Holmes.

When the boys come across a dead body that looks a whole lot like the leftovers of an unfortunate encounter with a cattle stampede, Old Red sees the perfect opportunity to employ his Holmes-inspired deducifyin' skills. Putting his ranch work squarely on the back burner, he sets out to solve the case. Big Red, like it or not (and mostly he does not), is along for the wild ride in this clever, compelling, and completely one-of-a-kind mystery.

John Lescroart offers an engrossing historical mystery that takes us to a small French town in the dark days of World War I - where the rumor is that Auguste Lupa is the son of the greatest detective of all time. And his mysterious legacy may come to light as he attempts to solve the baffling murder of an intelligence agent...

Arthur Conan Doyle appearing as a literary character

Arthur Conan Doyle has just killed off Sherlock Holmes in The Final Problem and he immediately becomes one of the most hated men in London. So when he is contacted by a medium of some renown and asked to investigate a murder, he jumps at the chance to get out of the city. The only thing is that the murder hasn't happened yet; the medium, one Hope Thraxton, has foreseen that her death will occur at the third séance of a meeting of the Society for Psychical Research at her manor house in the English countryside. Along for the ride is Conan Doyle's good friend Oscar Wilde, and together they work to narrow down the list of suspects, which includes a mysterious foreign Count, a levitating magician, and an irritable old woman with a familiar. Meanwhile, Conan Doyle is enchanted by the plight of the capricious Hope Thraxton, who may or may not have a more complicated back-story than it first appears. As Conan Doyle and Wilde participate in séances and consider the possible motives of the assembled group, the clock ticks ever closer to Hope's murder.

When literary researcher Harold White is inducted into the preeminent Sherlock Holmes enthusiast society, he never imagines he's about to be thrust onto the hunt for Arthur Conan Doyle's missing diary. But after a Doylean scholar is murdered, it is Harold who takes up the search, both for the diary and for the killer.

Sherlock Holmes Universe - Fiction Series

The Inspector Lestrade series by M.J. Trow

In Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, Holmes regularly solved cases that baffled conventional detectives. The representative of the police forces in those stories was Inspector Lestrade, a competent but-not-in-Holmes's-league investigator who sometimes brought his most puzzling cases to The Great Detective. Lestrade comes into his own in this popular series.

It is 1891 and London is still reeling from the horror of the unsolved Jack the Ripper murders when Inspector Sholto Lestrade is sent to the Isle of Wight to investigate a strange corpse found walled up in Shanklin Cline. Lestrade whirls from ballroom and barroom, from vicarage to spiritualist gather, from the studio of the celebrated Alma-Tadema to 221B Baker Street with spell-binding panache.

It's the autumn of 1890, and a spate of bombings has hit London. The newspapers are full of fevered speculation about anarchists, anti-monarchists and Fenians. But one man suspects an even more sinister hand behind the violence. Sherlock Holmes believes Professor Moriarty is orchestrating a nationwide campaign of terror, but to what end? At the same time, a bizarrely garbed figure has been spotted on the rooftops and in the grimy back alleys of the capital. He moves with the extraordinary agility of a latter-day Spring-heeled Jack. He possesses weaponry and armour of unprecedented sophistication. He is known only by the name Baron Cauchemar, and he appears to be a scourge of crime and villainy. But is this masked man truly the force for good that he seems?

1. The Stuff of Nightmares (2013)
2. Gods of War (2014)
3. The Thinking Engine (2015)

A word from your guide

It seems that every author who has ever enjoyed the Holmes stories yearns to write one themselves -- there are dozens of novels and hundreds of shorter works utilizing Doyle's settings and characters, as well as thousands of articles about Holmes's influence on modern fiction and crime detection.

Holmes and his cohort make cameo appearances in many another tale, and are often a feature of fanciful time-travel stories. Even characters in other works find inspiration in Doyle's stories, honoring Holmes as their ideal detective.